Rising to the Sunset
by Aerial312
Summary: Post X2. Scott copes with Jean's death and these strange sensations he's experiencing. Kitty helps him sort it all out.
1. Tests

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters.  They belong to Marvel

Rated PG-13 for some mild swearing.

"Dr. Mc Coy, do you know what this is?" Kitty asked, holding up a device that resembled a watch.  Hank pushed his glasses up his furry, blue nose, and examined it.

"I'm not sure.  It appears to be a mobile device for one of these machines.  I haven't had a chance to checkout all this stuff yet".

"I learned how to use most of the main machines.  Dr. Grey was teaching me because I was interested".

"Yes, the Professor told me.  I'm glad to have you around the lab to help.  So do you know how to run the EEG machine?"

"Yes," Kitty answered, going over to it.  "And how to access everyone's archived records and run matches and spot differences".

"Excellent"

"I've pulled Mr. Summers' records for the last five years.  There is a marked difference between the first 3 years and the last 2". 

Hank frowned.  "If he has highly variable results, we may not be able to find anything out".

**Hank, I need you at the baseball field immediately.  Artie has injured his leg.  I'm not sure how badly**, the Professor projected into Hank and Kitty's minds.

**"Professor, what about Scott's test?"**

**Kitty can do it**

Hank nodded, and turned to Kitty, who agreed.

"Ok, off to save the day.  Want to bet it was an all out powers game?"

Kitty laughed.  She sat at the bench and keyed something into her laptop.  A series of EEGs appeared on the screen.  More tapping scanned the sample for differences.  The first three years were very consistent, as were the last two, but there was a notable difference between the two samples.  In fact, Kitty had never even seen an EEG that resembled Scott's last two years, and she had helped Jean do the annuals.  They had to have annual EEGs as a precaution to monitor their normal brain function, in an environment with so much potential for psionic activity.  There were differences in everyone's, but nothing like what Kitty was seeing now.  There were extreme spikes in activity.  Curious, Kitty called up the Professor's annual.  It was incredible; almost entirely high spikes…

A knock at the door pulled Kitty away from her computer.  Scott entered the room, looking incredibly worn out.  He had a few days worth of scruff on his face, and Kitty was sure that if his covered by his ruby glasses she would see big dark circles under his eyes.  His dress shirt was untucked, and unbuttoned, showing his T-shirt underneath.  

"Hello, Mr. Summers.  Have a seat".

Scott nodded and slowly sat on the examining table.  He was very tense.  Kitty realized that being in the med lab must be hard for him.  In the week since Alkali Lake, the students had been tiptoeing around Scott, trying not to inadvertently say the wrong thing.

"Let me put the leads on," Kitty began, unwrapping them.  "Oh yeah, Dr. Mc Coy got called away, so I'll be doing the test."

"Okay".

"There was a problem during the baseball game.  Powers, " Kitty explained, making small talk while she attached the two leads to his head.  They were both wireless devices, allowing Kitty to instantly call up the image on her laptop.   Scott did not react to the baseball game problem as Kitty would have expected.  Ordinarily it would have made him angry that the students were using their powers in a baseball game.

"Ok, all set," Kitty announced. "I'm getting a feed".

"Do I have to stay still?"

"No, "  Kitty keyed a few things into the laptop to ensure that the data was being recorded.  This feed was peculiar, unlike either of the others.  There were lone spikes here and there and other bizarre features Kitty had never seen.  "Mr. Summers, what exactly are we looking for?  Changes?"

"I think so.  I don't understand it.  I just…I'm just looking for some…some indication…activity."  His voice was thick with emotion.

"Mr. Summers…"

"Oh, Kitty, you can call me Scott here".

It felt odd, but she did it.  "Scott, you and Jean had a mind link, right?"

"Yes"

"And you're looking for indications that there are remnants …"

"I've gotten this odd buzzing and headaches and these really fucking weird euphoric moments that I just want to go away".

Kitty's eyes widened to hear Scott swear.  She had only heard him swear once before and it was in a conversation with Jean, and he didn't know she was in the room.

"So it feels like the link is **active**?"

Scott paused.   "I don't know.  Maybe I'm imagining it…hoping for it".  Scott bit his quivering lip.  They sat in silence for a while, Kitty staring at the screen.  She ran a number of match attempts.  There were segment matches with both samples of Scott's archived EEGs, but none of them were particularly long matches.

"Mr….uh…Scott, when did you and Jean establish your permanent mind link?"

"Two years ago".

"Oh!"

"What?"

"There is a marked difference in your readings from the past two years and those before that".

"The mind link.  I remember Jean saying something about telepaths having heightened readings".

"Yeah.  I was looking at the Professor's archive before you came, and he's off the page".

"So you can recognize the difference in the readings with the link?"

"Yeah.  Look,"  She showed him the screen with the comparison.

"How…how does my current reading compare?"

"It's really odd, unlike any of the others.  It's a combination of both, with very distinct separate moments, and isolated spikes".

"But it indicates higher than normal thought process?"  Scott's voice was quick and anxious.

"It appears that way," Kitty replied.  "But I'm not an expert".

"I wish Cerebro were up and running again, then the Professor would be able to tell for sure and we wouldn't have to rely on variable brain waves.  He thinks I'm just experiencing these sensations because I want to feel something".

 While Scott was talking, Kitty fidgeted with the watch.  It appeared to be a remote device for most of the main machines.  Kitty keyed the frequency of the leads into the touchpad and hit enter.  The EEG appeared on the LCD screen.  Kitty smiled. 

Scott continued through all this.  "I guess I do want to feel something.  I don't' know, maybe I am imagining it, but it feels so real. These sensations.  I..." he bit his lip and his shoulders shook with sobs.  

"Scott…I believe you.  All signs indicate that something is going on.  Can I monitor you all day tomorrow?  It would be useful to see what happens in the specific segments where you experience the strange sensations.  I have this device here that can pick up the frequencies.  And I think I can send it directly to the laptop and cross match.  I can monitor directly while I'm in your class, and if you could write down the times you experience the…uh…activity, I can reference those specific segments of the record.  And once I have more data …and one day should be plenty, don't' worry…I can show Dr. Mc Coy and the Professor".

Scott looked up. "Thank you Kitty.  For believing me," He stood up. "So I just leave these in?"

"Yeah, and record times".

"Ok," Scott attempted a smile.  

"Oh!" Kitty had an idea.  "Can I give you a few more sensors? So I can get a complete impression of what happens?"

"Sure.  What kind of sensors?"

"Heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature," Kitty retrieved the leads and keyed their frequencies into the watch.  She could uplink them to the laptop later. "So just take these and put the sticky part on your…uh…chest".

"Ok"  Scott lifted up his shirt to do it. Kitty gulped.  She had expected him to do it later.  His bare chest was amazing.  But this was business so she suppressed the urge to stare.  

'This one goes over your heart…these under your collar bone on either side…and this one on the nape of your neck".

After all the leads were attached, Scott left, in a better mood than he had come in.  Kitty sat and played with the watch.  She figured out how to link it to her machine and auto save.   Kitty looked at the clock.  Scott had only been there for 15 minutes.  

Hank came striding into the room carrying Artie, whose face was wet from recent tears. "It's broken.  But I don't think we'll see another powers game for a long time".

Kitty laughed.

"How did it go with Scott?"

It was very interesting.  There may be some foundation to his claims.  I've put some leads on him that I'm going to monitor for the next day or so.  Oh! I got the watch to work.

Sounds good.  I'll mention it to the Professor.

Kitty nodded and exited to her room with the watch and laptop in hand, as Hank got Artie ready for his leg to be set.


	2. Data

RISING TO THE SUNSET

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, they belong to Marvel.  

This is a relatively short chapter…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kitty sat at her desk, with the laptop out.  This was not uncommon.  She usually took her notes directly to laptop.  Scott stood at the board writing out a complicated identity.  Kitty was the only person in the class who had gotten it right in the homework.  Suddenly, Kitty's watch began to whir loudly.

"Uh oh," Peter laughed.  "You're in trouble now".

However, Scott did not look up.  In fact, he tensed, gripping the chalkboard ledge.  Kitty silenced the watch and sent the info directly to the laptop where she could more easily keep an eye on it.  His brain waves were spiking, temperature rising, and heart and respiratory rates increasing.  Scott held a hand to his temple.  His hand dropped suddenly, as all heightened data on Kitty's screen died down.  Scott's hand shook as he continued to write.  The bell rang.   Everyone looked up at Scott pensively, knowing better than to just leave at the bell. 

"Have a nice day," Scott announced, turning from the board.  

Everyone exchanged puzzled 'No homework?' glances as they exited.  Kitty lingered.  Once everyone else was gone she walked up to Scott's desk and put the laptop down. 

"What type of moment was that?"

"Euphoric…clear…no static…"

"Was there contact?"

"Not fully".

"Explain".

"No words.  But her presence…I felt it".

Kitty nodded and scanned the data for similar results.  "You had a number of episodes last night?"

Scott nodded.  'Every time I fell asleep, it jerked me awake.  I don't know, Kitty.  I need to prove this.  I need to find out for sure…one way or the other".

Kitty nodded. "I'll present my data to Dr. McCoy and the Professor and see if they agree with me."

Scott looked at her, and attempted a smile.  Then sharply he looked away, grabbing his head.  Kitty looked at her screen.  Everything was spiking again.

"Kitty!  It's a bad pain this time.  Is the data different?"

"Umm…wow, yeah.  The spikes are much sharper and more defined."

"Is that good?" Scott winced.

 "I don't know.  I think it's a sign of higher level thought, but again, I'm not a professional.  Can you move well enough to come to the Professor with me right now?"

"Yeah" Scott stood up and he and Kitty strode out of the room.

Feedback!  Please…. J


	3. Plan

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters.  They belong to Marvel.

Chapter 3 

 "Now Kitty, Scott," the Professor began, "I don't want you to get your hopes up too high.  Granted this data is quite peculiar, but I'm not sure if it truly indicates what you would like it to".

Scott sat in a chair with his head buried in his hands.  

"But Profesor," Kitty argued.  "These physiological changes are coupled with distinct feelings he's getting.  All of the spikes correspond to specific periods of either euphoria or depression".

"How long have you been monitoring him?"

"I ran his test yesterday afternoon for Hank, and I've had these leads on him since.  Scott's been telling me the exact times of when he experiences the strange sensations".  

"May I see your data again?"

"Here, look.  This is where it was on my first test.  Then this is what happened today in class, and then this is the reading right after.  Also, if you look at this," Kitty searched through her files, finally opening one.  "This is Scott's annual from 5 years ago.  4 years ago.  3 years ago.  Now 2 years ago.  Look at the difference.  Last year.  And now".

"Interesting"

"Kitty," Hank interjected, moving closer to the computer from his place besides Scott's chair, "Can you bring up Jeannie's annuals?"

"Umm, yeah,"  Kitty typed a few commands into her laptop and Jean's waves appeared on the screen.  "There".

"Wow" Hank marveled, "Look at that".

Kitty typed a few more commands in.  "Okay, now Jean is the red line and Scott is the blue line.  5, 4, 3, 2…"

"Holy shit!"  
Scott looked up at Hank's exclamation.  On the screen, the red and the blue lines were so closely merged most of the time that they appeared purple.

"Now professor," Hank started, "I won't pretend to be an expert on mind links…you've said yourself that you don't even fully understand it, but this data seems to indicate activity…Scotty, how did she form your mind link?"

"She, uh, did it when we were, uh, particularly close, um, two years ago".

Scott blushed, and Hank snickered.  "Interesting".

"She'd, uh, linked us before, but it had never been a permanent thing.  Like she forged it so deeply that she didn't need to consciously maintain it". 

"I always thought that strong emotional reactions could forge the mind link.  All right.  Kitty, Hank, you've got me won over.  We will send a small reconnaissance mission back to Alkali Lake to look around".

Kitty grinned.  "Thank you for giving this a shot Professor."

"My only concern is disrupting classes again so soon".

"I'm going," Scott insisted.

"I figured as much".

"I would also like to go," Hank chimed in. "I think it would be wise because if we do find her, and she happens to be alive, she's going to need some medical attention.  And I haven't been on  mission in a long time".

"All right.  Now who else?  I'm not comfortable sending just the two of you to canvass such a large area".

Hank looked at Scott, they both turned their gaze to Kitty.  "Professor, what if we take a few of the advanced students.   It's just a reconnaissance mission.  It would be a good experience".

The Professor nodded.  "That sounds like an excellent idea.  Who do you have in mind?"

"Well, Kitty for one," Hank began.  "I think we should take four students total, so that we can form two teams of one adult and two students".

"Why don't you take Bobby and Rogue?" the Professor suggested.  "They proved themselves to be quite capable last week".

"Okay".

"One more."

"How about Peter?" Kitty suggested.

"That's an excellent idea, Kitty," the Professor agreed. "Peter was also quite valuable last week.  He stayed with some of the younger children who managed to escape the invasion, and got them back safely".

"And don't forget that Miss Kitty proved herself last week too," Hank grinned.  

Kitty had gone through the walls, into Stryker's office for the team.  She retrieved all of the documents that provided proof of his warmongering. 

"When can we leave?" Scott asked anxiously.    
"I think it best if we wait until morning.  Hank, Kitty  can the two of you go find Peter, Rogue and Bobby?"

"Can't you just page them telepathically?" Kitty questioned.

"Please."

"Come on, Kitty.  Let's get 'em".

"Ah.  Ok".

Hank began to open the door for Kitty, but she walked right through it.  Hank laughed and opened the door to follow her.  Scott continued to stare at the readings on Kitty's laptop.

"Now Scott, I don't want you to get your hopes up too high".

Scott looked up.  "I just want to know for sure.  These feelings, they're just so strong… then Kitty showed me this data, and I just can't leave it until I see her.  Either way". He gulped back a sob.  There was a long silence.

"I agree that this data looks promising.  The mind link is such a peculiar thing.  There is no basis to go on when evaluating these results because it is such a distinct phenomena".

"I always found it to be such a nice thing.  And she could do it so effortlessly.  It just became a common thing, we didn't really think about it, but  we were in each others  minds.  It was peaceful.  And then when…it happened…it went out…suddenly…then there was static and fuzziness, and I wasn't alone again. I can't explain it".

There was a knocked at the door.  

"Come in".

Kitty popped through the door, followed by Hank, Peter, Rogue, and Bobby.  

"Have you told them?"

"No, we thought it best you did," Hank grinned.  Peter, Rogue, and Bobby

looked up at the Professor confused.  

"Kitty and Hank have presented me with some data that suggests that Jean may still be alive"

"Really?  That's great!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Well I don't want anyone to get their hopes up too high because the data is not conclusive.  It does however warrant a reconnaissance mission to check it out.  The three of you, along with Kitty have been chosen because of the exceptional skills you exhibited under the pressure of last week".

"When do we go?"  Peter asked.  

"Tomorrow morning".

"Do we get uniforms?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, yes you do".

"Excellent".

"Scott, why don't you take Hank and the students down to the equipment room to get outfitted for tomorrow?  Then you can all go ready the Blackbird for the mission". 

Scott nodded, his mood a bit lighter than it had been earlier.

Give me feedback! J


	4. Mission

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters.  They belong to Marvel.

Chapter 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The assembled team now sat on the Blackbird.  Hank was in the pilot's chair, and Scott sat slumped in the co-pilot's chair, staring out the window.  He was still wearing all of the sensors.   The students sat in the back, a bit excited and nervous.  Kitty was carefully watching her data and Scott.  As they were getting closer to Alkali Lake, everything was spiking again.

"So how are you doing that?"  Rogue asked Kitty.

"I put some sensors on Scott, er, Mr. Summers," Kitty explained.  Rogue giggled. "He said I could call him Scott.  Anyways, the sensors transmit directly to my laptop and I monitor the results".

"Cool.  Ah wouldn't know where to begin with that stuff".

"All right," Hank announced.  "We are beginning landing sequences.  Everyone needs to sit down and buckle up".

The plane touched down lightly on a snowy meadow.  The second Hank released the back hatch, Scott grabbed his pack and bounded out of the plane.  The students went to follow him, but Hank stopped them.

"Now, there is a shut down procedure for the 'Bird.  Come here.  This is something we need to learn.  First you need to engage the obscuring nets.  These will keep radar from picking her up.  Then you need to press these three buttons to put the plane on low energy stasis.  Got it?" Everyone nodded, hesitantly.  "Good.  Let's go".

Scott stood staring at the lake.  It was so vast now.  The fractured remains of the dam peered slightly out of the water.  The afternoon sun glimmered on the water.  His head crackled with the static that had buzzed there for the last few days.

"Hey Scotty, get over here!"

Slowly, Scott trudged over to the group.  His head hurt like hell.  Until this morning the static and the pain or euphoria had not existed at the same time. But now he was alternately feeling the pain or euphoria, all while the static remained in the background.

"All right," Hank announced, when Scott finally reached the group.  "We will form two groups and search.  I will take Rogue and Bobby, and we will go upstream.  Scott, you…Scott!"

Scott broke out of his daze.

"You will take Kitty and Peter downstream.  Are you all right?"

Scott nodded.  "Let's go".

Hank headed off to the north, with Rogue and Bobby following him, holding hands.  Soon they disappeared into the trees.  Scott led his own group through the snow toward the water.  The snow made it difficult to maneuver the uneven ground, and it took a silent half hour to reach the shore.  Scott paused and looked out over the frigid water with trepidation.  Peter was smiling.

"This reminds me of my native Siberia".

Kitty smiled.  She was quite happy to have been paired with Peter.  They glanced back at Scott and then back at each other.  He was just staring out over the water, one hand on his head.  

"Which way, boss?" Peter asked.

Slowly, Scott turned in a circle, pondering that very question, then he led them down a path along the very edge of the shore.  They walked for a while longer, and the path turned into a steep climb, and got slippery.  

"Katya! Pay attention!"  Peter yelled, grabbing her arm.  She had almost stepped off the edge, as she was paying more attention to her watch.  "Why is that thing so interesting?"

"Well, before we left the Blackbird I downloaded Jean's brainwaves from my laptop, into the memory here…"

Scott spun around hearing this. "Are you getting this?"

"It's hard to tell because your waves had been so in synch.  I…I'm not sure…I don't want to give you false hope".

"But you're getting something?"

"Blips.  Yes".

"Well, tell me the second you get anything more".  With that, he turned back to the path.  They walked on a little longer, until Scott paused.  

"Let's take a short break".

He sat down on a rock and put his head down on his arms.  Kitty looked nervously at her watch.  She was concerned because his heartrate and temperature were increasing.  She took the opportunity to take the laptop out of her backpack.  She was starting to get more than blips.  

"Look at the sky over there Katya.  Look at the pattern the sunset is making.  It looks like a great bird".

Kitty looked up.  Peter was right.  It did look like a bird. "Fiery orange and red.  It looks like a phoenix".

"A what?"

"A phoenix.  It's a mythological bird.  Burst into flames and was reborn from the ashes".

They stood there staring at the sky.  Kitty's watch bleeped violently.  Scott looked up.  His jaw dropped and he stood up, transfixed on the sunset.

"Uh…Scott…I'm getting fuller segments now, not just blips".

His gaze stayed up at the sky.  "Break's over".   They headed up toward the amazing sunset.  Scott's head was spinning.  It was buzzing, crackling.  He could feel her presence.  He couldn't explain it, but he could feel her. The longer he looked up at the fiery bird in the sky, the stronger he felt it.  It reminded him of her hair.  Their path seemed to be heading nowhere, however.  It took nearly an hour to climb up a rocky hill.  At the top they paused. 

"Mr. Summers, sir, there's nothing up here," Peter commented.  "Are we going to continue?"

Scott looked around.  The feeling was stronger than ever.  "We're going to stay here for a bit".

He sat on the rock.  Kitty and Peter explored the edge a bit.  

**Jean! Where are you honey!?  I need to find you.  I know you're out there.  I don't know how I know, but I do. Jean!**

**Mmmm**

Was he hearing things?  Scott perked up.  He was almost positive they heard a mental groan. 

**Jean, baby?**

**Mmmm…I…ugh**

Scott began to shiver with the discomfort she was projecting.  

**Where are you**

**…I…don't...ugh…dark…cold…**

**I'll find you.  I love you so much**

**Love…you…too**

Kitty's watch bgan to sound badly, nearly causing her to fall over the edge.  Peter grabbed her arm and steadied her.  Kitty stared at the screen.  

"What is it Katya?"

"I'm getting a real reading now.  It's a solid line…no breaks.  What ever he's feeling right now, there's a strong connection".

They looked over at Scott.  He was sitting on the rock, leaning forward, with his head in his hands, concentrating hard.  

"But where could she be?" Kitty wondered.  "There's nothing up here".

Peter got down on his stomach and peered over the edge.

"Kitty!" Scott called.  "I've made real contact!" 

He stood up and ran over to her, his spirit more anxious than ever.

"And I'm starting to get a complete reading".

"It's a cave," Peter announced, standing up. "We're on top of a cave.  The river feeds into it.  I couldn't see a way in that doesn't have the river going through though".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEEDBACK!


	5. Rescue

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.  Marvel does.

The much anticipated…

Chapter 5

"We have to find a way to scout the cave," Scott decided, his tactical side taking precedence over his emotions for the first time in a long time.  "Kitty, I was you to phase through the rock, into the cave, and look around.  Can you control it so you don't fall all the way through?"

"I think so"

"Peter, take her ankles, just to be safe".

Kitty slowly immaterialized through the top of the cave.  It was very dark inside, and she could hear the water rushing below her.  For a moment she panicked, then remembered the light on her belt.  As she pressed a button, a bright light shone from the buckle.  It was still hard to see, the surface of the water was black, and so were the edges.  _So are our uniforms_, she thought unhappily.  But a glint of red caught her eye.  Kitty pivoted to look at it.  Jean's hair!  She was lying on a ledge some 50 feet from where Kitty dangled.  Quickly, Kitty phased herself back through the top of the cave.  

"Well?!" Scott demanded, before she was even completely out.  

"She's in there".

Scott  gasped a sigh of relief and regained his composure. **Baby, we found you!  We're coming**

**Mmmm**

This was a happier moan. 

"So if we walk back down there hill over here, I should be able to phase right by her".

"Can you phase with someone?"

"Yes," Kitty answered.  Truthfully, she had never tried, but before she came to Xavier's she has accidentally phased through her bedroom floor holding her cat.  And Ginger made out fine.

They made their way down the uneven terrain until Kitty decided that they were close enough.  

"Ok, Peter, I want you to take the com device and call the others.  Kitty, you take me in, come back out and get Peter".

"Let me just pop in quick on my own first to make sure I know where we'll land".

Kitty quickly phased through the side of the cave. She was right on the ledge where Jean was.  There were about three feet to where Jean lay, and she was right on the edge.  It was going to be a tight fit.

"Okay.  We're in a perfect position," Kitty relayed, returning to the surface.  "But no momentum whatsoever going in.   It's not a very big ledge.  Give me your hand". 

Scott took Kitty's hand and they phased through the wall.  The sight of Jean laying there in a heap, caked with mud, her uniform ripped was too much for Scott, and he flung himself at her.

"Careful," Kitty warned.  "You don't want to jostle her too much".

Scott muttered some agreement and gingerly clutched Jean closer to him.  Kitty pulled another package of sensors out of her backpack. 

"Put these on her.  I'm going to get Peter".

Scott grabbed the package from her.  He sat up and began applying them.  **I'm here now.  I'm here.  It's going to be ok.  Oh God, you're so cold.  But you're alive**  Scott shook as he applied the last sensor.  Kitty and Peter phased through the wall and joined him.  

"They're going to come meet us on the top of the cave with the Blackbird".

Kitty plunked away frantically at her laptop, keying in the new sensors.  "It's all there!  Everything's low, but there.  Her temperature is very low.  She is in hypothermia, which has slowed everything else". 

"Is that bad?"  Scott asked, as he rushed to remove the survival blanket from his pack.  

"Well, hypothermia's not good.  But the slowing of the heart and breathing is a survival tactic".

Scott nodded as he wrapped the blanket around Jean and cradle her in his arms.  

"Her leg," he told Kitty, "is broken".  

"Okay, uh, we just have to be careful with it then.  It's probably begun to set already so we shouldn't splint it.  It may end up needing to be rebroken and set properly".

"Maybe not.  She had it set telekinetically before.  That may have held".

"That could be".

Scott clutched her tighter.  **I love you.  I've got you.  Stay with me.**

**I'm here**

Scott smiled and kissed her forehead.  **How are you doing?**

**I'm glad you're here.**

**I wish you would wake up**

**I'm trying**

"This is so cool," Kitty whispered to Peter, pointing at her screen.  "They are completely synched".

"Okay, now let's get Jean out of here.  Kitty take Peter first, then come back and get me and Jean".

"Uh, Scott, why don't you let Peter carry her.  You're really worn out…"

"I can carry her".

"I know you could carry her, but…"

"I can carry her".

**Scott!**

"Scott!" Kitty barked(at the same time that Jean barked it in his mind), "This is a mission.  You need to think as Cyclops, not Scott.  I know you  could carry her, but Colossus could do it more easily, which would be because she wouldn't be jostled so much".

**She's right**

**But…**

**She's right**

"Fine," Scott reluctantly put Jean down, and Colossus took her.  "Shadowcat, take them through first, then come back and get me".  Kitty smiled to hear him use her codename.  

"Certainly, Cyclops".

"Be careful Colossus".

"Yes, sir," They departed through the wall.

**Don't worry**

**I love you**

**I know**

In a matter of seconds, Kitty was back for Scott and they left the cave.  

"Cyclops," Peter began "They will be meeting us at the top".

"Lead the way".

Colossus lead the climb with no struggle.

**Okay.  I'm glad he's got you.  He's having a much easier time at this than I am**

**That's one thing I love about you honey.  You can admit when you're wrong**

They finally reached the top, Kitty and Scott panting, Peter barely winded.  

Scott sat down.  "Give her to me".

Peter down and lay her in Scott's arms.

**Mmmmm…Now do you feel better?**

**Yes** Scott laughed. **Should I find it amusing that you're teasing me, but unconscious?**

Jean's mental laugh tickled, and he held her closer.


	6. Return

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters.  Marvel does.  

Chapter 6

Overhead they heard a great whoosh heralding the arrival of the Blackbird.  It touched down and Bobby and Rogue came hurdling out, followed by Hank.  

"Have we forgotten out landing procedure?"

"Dr. McCoy," Rogue argued.  We're only going to be a few minutes".

Hank smiled and let it go.  He walked over Kitty who staring at the laptop.  "Do you have Jeannie's vitals up too?"

"Yeah.  She's hypothermic, but all her vitals are improving.  It's weird.  Look at this!  They're EEGs are completely synched".

"They have a very interesting connection".

They walked over to where Scott sat holding Jean.  He was deeply in his mind.  

"Be careful.  You don't want to shock him," Hank warned.  

Kitty lightly placed her hand on Scott's shoulder.  Gradually, he recognized it.  

"Are they here?"

"We're here Scott," Hank replied. "How's Jeannie?"

"Alive".

"That's great.  Kitty said she was hypothermic"

"Yeah.  She's still soaked, but I didn't want to take her out of her wet uniform yet because its does provide some extra insulation," Scott said.  "Her left leg is broken from the fight inside".  Their fight, he left out.  

**I'm sorry, honey.  I did that to you**

**It's ok.  You were Stryker's puppet.  I know that**

"Okay," Hank announced.  "Let's get her inside where we can get her out of the drenched uniform, and I can get an IV into her to slowly re-warm her.  Raising her temperature is a top priority, but we have to do it slowly.  What is it now, Kitty"

"95".

"Still hypothermic.  Not dire, but still not good".

Peter bent down to get Jean and Scott resisted a little. 

**I can do the short trip to the Blackbird**

**Scott…**

He relented and let Peter take Jean inside and lay her on the emergency bunk.  

"Okay," Hank smiled.  "I have raised the temperature inside the bird to, say, August.  It's going to be warm.  Uh…Iceman, Colossus, come outside with me while I contact the Professor and update him.  Shadowcat and Rogue, help Cyclops change…uh…Jean…into one of the dry sweat suits.

The younger boys reluctantly followed Hank outside.  After a few minutes, Rogue poked her head outside and indicated that they could come inside now.  Jean was settled into the bunk, wearing a pair of blue sweatpants, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.  Hank pulled up one of the sleeves and inserted an IV.  Kitty came over to the bunk, disappointed.  

"I could have done the IV".

"Really? I didn't know you could do IVs".

"Yeah, I've done it once before.  I've watched her do a number of them though".

"Allrighty, then.  Hook up this bag and set the meter to a constant drip.  I'm going to get prep the engine".

"Okay".

Kitty set to work finishing Jean's IV.  When she looked up, she was startled to see that Bobby and Peter had unzipped and removed their uniforms to their waists.  

"What?"  Bobby asked.  "It's hot in here".

"They're lucky," Rogue muttered. "They can do that".

"Well you could too," Bobby laughed.  

Rogue shot him a dirty look.  Scott followed the other guys' lead, only he took a dry t-shirt and put it on.  He then proceeded to climb into the emergency bunk and snuggle up to Jean.  

"Wow," Kitty marveled. 

"What?" Rogue asked, looked at the jumble of lines on Kitty's laptop.  

"She really shows much more improvement when he's attached to her.  Look. Everything improves when Scott is near her.  Oooh.  Including her temperature.  Hank!  She's up to 96 degrees.  She's out of the hypothermic range".

**She is so astute.  That girl will make a great doctor someday**

**You've begun training her well. She was amazing when we started this search**

**Kitty's an extremely smart young lady**

**Mmm**

**Tired**

**Very**

**Don't let me keep you up**

Slowly, Scott fell asleep, his head against Jean's breast.  It was the first time he had really slept all week.  


	7. Phoenix

Rising to the Sunset

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.  Marvel does. 

Chapter 7 

Jean was soaring.  Everything was a burst of excitement and activity and power.  She was experiencing a strength she had never felt before.  It exhilarated her.  Images flashed before her.  Liberty Island.  Scott's present for her birthday.  The Natural Science Museum.  The first fight with Magneto.  Alkali Lake. Her fight with Scott.  The soaring crescendo of power that welled inside her to the explosion.    The wall of water.  Scott's face as she raised the ramp, locking him in.  A sunset.  A brilliant orange and red sunset.  It appeared like a bird.  A phoenix.  And it soared higher, and higher.  

And Jean's eyes snapped open.  Reality was far different from her dream.  She was looking at the harsh metal of the med lab.  Everything hurt, especially her left leg.  Gingerly, Jean lifted her head to look around.  Monitors beeped and buzzed all around.  Jean could feel their sensors against her skin.  She had an IV in her left arm and a blood oxygen monitor on the index finger of that hand.   On her right side, Scott was clinging to her, sound asleep.  Poor baby, he had been with her since they found her.  Some how they had been able to communicate through the mind link even though she was unconscious.  That had helped him keep his spirits up.  With great effort, she extracted her right arm out from under Scott and put it around him, gently stroking the back of his neck.  He curled closer to him.  His face was stubbly.  With her somewhat captive left hand she grasped his hand that was around her and lightly ran the fingers without medical sensors on them over it.  Gently Jean kissed the top of his head.  Scott stirred.  

**Mmmm**

**Good nap?** She continued to stroke his neck.  

**Very.  That feels good…**

Suddenly, his head snapped up and his eyes met hers.  She could always tell when he was looking her directly in the eye despite his ruby glasses.

"Oh my God!" He lunged closer and kissed her passionately on the lips.  "You were in my head.  It didn't even click right away that you were stroking my head".

**My throat is so dry, it hurts to talk**.

"Oh!"  Scott sat up quickly and reached over to the table next to the bed, grabbing a cup of apple juice.  "Here drink this".  He held the cup up for her.  

**Thank you**

She took a long drink.

"Mmuch better," she smiled. "Still a little sore". **Why don't I save talking for everyone else.  I'd rather be in your mind anyways**

**Okay**

**Lay down**

**Yes ma'am**

Jean smiled and playfully smacked the back of his head.  He lay his chin on her chest and looked up.

"Scott!  Don't crush her!" Kitty laughed, entering the room.  "Oh!  You're awake!" Kitty flung her laptop onto the table and frantically tapped something.  "I'm IMing Hank, so that he and the Professor can come down here".

**IMing?** Scott laughed.

**Ah…technology**"How are you this…"

**Evening**

"…Evening, Kitty??"

"I'm good.  I've decided what my project is going to be for your class.  I'm going to analyze all the data I've collected from the sensors in the past week and see what I can make of it.  I find it really interesting.  Like how the little bits of shared consciousness were coming into his mind the whole time and then the total synchronization when we found you was amazing.  I want to see if I can find any patterns".

"Excellent.  I'd like to see your data sometime, too.  It is very interesting.  How did you find your first mission?"

"It was really cool to be out there for real".

"She was very useful," Scott announced from his position curled around Jean.  Kitty smiled.  This was the first time she had really seen Scott and Jean be really affectionate with each other.  They were usually quite reserved.  

"Good day all!" Hank bellowed, as he entered the room followed by Ororo, Kurt, and Logan. The Professor rolled in last.  

Jean smiled.  "Hi".

"You gave us quite a scare," Ororo admitted, as she came over to the bed to give her best friend a hug.  It was a sort of awkward hug, as Scott was still attached to Jean's right side and the medical equipment was on her left.  "Do you remember Kurt?"

Jean looked over at the blue man standing in the doorway.  "Yes.  Nice to see you again".

"Gutentag, fraulein".

"Kurt and I have been praying for you everyday".

Jean cast a curious look her way. 

"Recent events have renewed my faith".

Jean nodded.

"How are you feeling Jeannie?" Hank asked.  Logan looked up, surprised that someone else called her Jeannie.

"Sore, but not too bad.  My throat is a little scratchy".

"Good.  You're leg is doing extremely well.  It set in the correct position, and its further along in the healing process than I would have expected".

"Ah, telekinesis".

Hank laughed.

"Well, we just wanted to stop in and say hi," Ororo began. "Kurt and I have some work to do in the garden".

"Bye".

They exited, and Logan followed them out, nodding to Jean as they left.  He felt awkward and out of place.

"Kitty, if you don't mind," the Professor asked, "Hank and I would like to talk to Jean alone".

"Certainly, Professor," Kitty grabbed her backpack and left.  Scott looked up, tightening his grip on Jean.

"Don't worry, Slim," Hank quipped.  "You can stay".

"That was some show of power you exhibited out there," said the Professor.

"I can't explain it.  It's like this tremendous force; a surge within me.  I'm soaring like a bird".

"A phoenix," Scott said softly.  

"Yes!" Jean exclaimed.  "That's what I've seen in my dreams!"

"Why do you say that, Scott?" the Professor asked.

"The sunset, uh…right before we found Jean.  It was this brilliant red and orange, and looked like a bird.  Kitty said it looked  like the mythological phoenix".

"That's what I've seen in my dreams, Scott, that sunset".

"That is very interesting," the Professor commented.  "Once you have had a little more time to gain your bearings and catch up, I would like to test the extent of your increased power.  But now, you need your rest so I will leave you alone.  Have a nice evening, Jean".

"Thank you, sir".

The professor turned and rolled out of the room.

Hank reached for Jean's left arm.  "We can take this out now".

"Good.  I was going to do it whether you gave me the okay or not".

"Now where is the gauze?" Hank began to search around the room.

"Don't worry".  The gauze floated up to Hank's face, but then continued down to Jean's arm, where it proceeded to press the IV site while the needle extracted itself.

"Impressive".

"Oh, that's nothing," Jean smirked.

"Well, you'll have to show me your tricks sometime".

Jean laughed.  Scott nuzzled his head into her shoulder.

"Well, uh, I'll leave you two alone now," Hank grinned.  "But take it easy tonight, you're still recovering".

"Hank!"  Scott's head popped up.

"Don't worry, Hank," Jean snickered.  "Bye now".

Hank quickly left the room. Jean ran her hand through Scott's hair.  He smiled.

**I…uh…don't think…uh…tonight…uh…not a good idea…uh…I mean…I want to…but…we should wait…**

**Don't worry, Scott.  I'll take it easy tonight.  The med lab's not the most romantic atmosphere anyways.  I can wait til we're back in our room.  Just hold me**

**Of course**

Jean rolled on her side and Scott held her closer.

**So that sunset I saw in my dreams was real?**

**Yeah.  It was amazing.  Peter and Kitty saw it, and then pointed it out to me.  I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  Somehow, at that point I knew I'd find you.  It was that point that the connection here**  he tapped his head, **got stronger.  Feelings became words, and then we were on top of the cave, and we found you and brought you out and the gorgeous sunset was still there even though it should have faded half and hour earlier**

**Wow**

**Do you think you saw it in your dreams because you saw it through my mind?**

**I don't think so…I had this dream so many times…its so odd**

**Mmmm…**

Scott pulled her as close as he could. 

**Scott, do you know the story of the Phoenix?"

Scott shook his head sleepily.

**The Phoenix died when everything around it was consumed by flames…and then rose again from its ashes**.

**You're a Phoenix**

**Mmmm**

**My Phoenix**

**Mmmhmmm** Jean smiled, and nuzzled her head against his chest. 

**When are we going to get married?**

**Soon**

**Let's make it really soon**

**Mmmhmm.  I love you.  I love that you're so anxious to be my husband**

**It's amazing how things like this make you change your priorities**

**Yeah**

**How does June sound? That would give us a few months to get ready…we could have a nice, small ceremony here…by the lake.  What do you think?**

But Jean was now asleep.  Scott smiled and pressed her to him, resting his chin on her hair.  Her fiery, red hair.  She was his Phoenix.

~END~

There will be a sequel to this.  I was considering just adding more chapters to this story, but I like it the way it is.  But the story isn't done…  Give me feedback!


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